The invention relates to an installation for fighting fire in a space. The space is preferably a railway carriage or a ship for transportation of lorries.
The invention also relates to an installation for fighting fire in a tunnel, preferably in a car or train tunnel.
Railway carriages transporting vehicles, such as lorries and trailers, are rarely equipped with fire fighting installations; the reason being the problematic surroundings for fire fighting installations. One problem is to fight and extinguish a fire that starts inside a covered trailer transported by the railway carriage. The fire is very difficult to fight and extinguish, since the top of the trailer is covered, typically with an aluminium cover, and the sides of the trailer are covered with a tarpaulin preventing the extinguishing medium from being sprayed from the outer side of the trailer into the goods space of the trailer. Owing to the above the goods that have caught fire have plenty of time to burn, and the fire may rapidly spread far, before the extinguishing medium is delivered to the fire area. If extinguishing medium is sprayed towards the side surfaces of the tarpaulin, said surfaces will only be cooled and protect the tarpaulin from burning, while the goods inside the tarpaulin can unimpededly continue to burn.
FR 2769508 discloses an installation for fighting fires on railway carriages for carrying vehicles. This known installation is designed in a traditional way to wet the whole vehicle with extinguishant in case of fire, whereby the spray heads are adapted to wholly cover the vehicle with extinguishant. In case of fire plenty of extinguishant is discharged.
Car tunnels are another problematic environment for fighting fire, which is why fire fighting installations are seldom installed therein. As regards fire fighting and extinguishing a similar problem to the one with railway carriage transportation arises when trailers and the like are transported in tunnels. Consequently, a possible fire fighting installation is rarely capable of preventing the goods in the trailer from burning.
It is an object of the present invention to efficiently fight fire in trailers and the like when these are transported in spaces such as railway carriages and ships and the fire has started either inside or outside the trailer or the like. Another object of the invention is to efficiently fight fire in trailers and railway carriages when these travel through tunnels.
Said first object is achieved with an installation for fighting fire in a space, the space being bounded by a first longitudinal side wall; the installation comprising at least two spray heads whereof the first spray head is placed in the space close to the first longitudinal side wall and obliquely directed downwards at an angle of 40 to 70xc2x0 in relation to a vertical plane and the and the second spray head is placed in the space close to a second longitudinal side wall of the space opposite the first side wall and obliquely directed downwards at an angle of 40 to 70xc2x0 in relation to the vertical plane, and a drive source for feeding extinguishing medium to said at least two spray heads, the drive source is a high pressure drive source for feeding the extinguishing medium at a pressure of at least 15 bar; the extinguishing medium is a water-based extinguishing medium; and said two spray heads are placed at a height of 3,2 to 4 m above the floor of the space and arranged to spray water-based extinguishing medium at a spread angle of 45 to 120xc2x0 and comprise at least two nozzles which are placed and directed in such a way that the spray heads at high pressure provide, in the direction in which the spray heads are directed, a mist-like spray with strong penetration power, and a suction at the respective spray head for sucking in flue gases into the spray of extinguishing medium and for enhancing the vaporization of the extinguishing medium.
The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the attached claims 1 to 13.
Said second object is achieved with an installation for fighting fire in a tunnel said installation comprising a high pressure drive source containing water-based extinguishing medium, and at least two spray heads, said drive source being adapted to feed water-based extinguishing medium to the spray heads, whereof the first spray head is placed close to a first longitudinal side wall of the tunnel and obliquely directed downwards at an angle of 40 to 70xc2x0 in relation to a vertical plane of the tunnel and the second spray head is placed close to a second longitudinal side wall of the tunnel opposite the first side wall and obliquely directed downwards at an angle of 40 to 70xc2x0 in relation to the vertical plane, the spray heads being placed at a height of 3,2 to 4 m above the floor level of the tunnel and arranged to spray water-based extinguishing medium at a spread angle of 45 to 120xc2x0. Preferably the spray heads comprise at least two nozzles which are placed and directed in such a way that the spray heads at high pressure provide, in the direction in which the spray heads are directed, a mist-like spray with strong penetration power, and a suction at the respective spray head for sucking in flue gases into the spray of extinguishing medium and for speeding up the vaporization of the extinguishing medium. Preferably the spray heads comprise at least two nozzles which are placed and directed in such a way that the spray heads at high pressure provide, in the direction in which the spray heads are directed, a mist-like spray with strong penetration power, and a suction at the respective spray head for sucking in flue gases into the spray of extinguishing medium and for enhancing the vaporization of the extinguishing medium. The tunnel is preferably-a car or a train tunnel.
The invention is based on the idea to place the spray heads on such a location in relation to the space, e.g. the railway carriage, that the spray heads, when activated, immediately spray extinguishing medium in the form of water-mist into the trailer after the fire has burnt holes on the tarpaulin, whereby the extinguishing medium is sprayed or injected with high momentum and penetrating power through the hole, and the spray heads are positioned so that they, on one hand, are directed towards the goods in the trailer for putting out the fire and, on the other hand, so that they are placed so high up that, when functioning, they suck heat from the hot flue gases, which enhances the vaporization of the water-based extinguishing medium used in the installation, whereby the area immediately above the fire is rapidly cooled down. By selecting a wide spread angle some of the extinguishing medium can be delivered into the areas where hot gas zones exist, thus preventing the flue gases from rapid and sudden ignition. Additionally the installation and method provide for effective fire protection of the whole vehicle from outside. Positioning of additional spray heads in an area below said hole of the tarpaulin makes the installation to work in a relatively inefficient way in putting out a fire which has started inside the vehicle (trailer), because such additional spray head(s) only cool down the tarpaulin and the discharged extinguishing medium does not affect the fire in any way. Therefore, spray heads are not positioned at a height of 0.5 to 3 m above the space (e.g. railway carriage).
The present invention very effectively and with the use of only little extinguishing medium puts out fires in the above described applications/environments.